Bismarck Sea in WW2 History | World War II Database

14 Dec 1942

Pacific Ocean

Submarine USS Spearfish had two false alarms this day. First, after stalking a large unescorted ship for over an hour south of New Hanover and almost at the point of firing torpedoes, the ship was identified as a properly marked hospital ship and was allowed to pass. Later, Spearfish stalked a single-stack ship for 20 minutes before identifying it as a large floating tree trunk with a branch extending 20 feet into the air. ww2dbase [Spearfish | Bismarck Sea | DS]

16 Dec 1942

Pacific Ocean

Submarine USS Spearfish spent an hour stalking an unescorted ship south of New Hanover only to recognize it as the same properly marked hospital ship Spearfish wasted an hour stalking two days earlier 40 miles away. Again, the ship was allowed to pass. ww2dbase [Spearfish | Bismarck Sea | DS]

18 Dec 1942

Pacific Ocean

While patrolling in the Bismarck Sea, submarine USS Spearfish detected a large ship running with lights in the early morning darkness. This time it only took 30 minutes to identify the ship as the same properly marked hospital ship seen two days earlier and four days earlier. ww2dbase [Spearfish | Bismarck Sea | DS]

25 Dec 1942

Pacific Ocean

Submarine USS Spearfish detected two Japanese cargo ships steaming in the Bismarck Sea. Spearfish fired four torpedoes with unobserved results, although postwar analysis credited Spearfish with two 7,000-ton cargo ships damaged. ww2dbase [Spearfish | Bismarck Sea | DS]

27 Dec 1942

Pacific Ocean

Submarine USS Spearfish made her fourth sighting of the properly marked hospital ship apparently on scheduled runs between Rabaul and Manus. The ship was allowed to pass. ww2dbase [Spearfish | Bismarck Sea | DS]

31 Dec 1942

Pacific Ocean

Submarine USS Spearfish tracked a convoy of two cargo ships and one tanker in the Bismarck Sea but was unable to gain an advantageous firing position. ww2dbase [Spearfish | Bismarck Sea | DS]

2 Jan 1943

Pacific Ocean

Submarine USS Spearfish fired four torpedoes at a convoy of two Japanese cargo ships in the Bismarck Sea, damaging Japanese army cargo ship Akagisan Maru. ww2dbase [Spearfish | Bismarck Sea | DS]

9 Jan 1943

Pacific Ocean

Submarine USS Spearfish made her fifth sighting of the properly marked hospital ship over the previous three weeks. The ship was allowed to pass. ww2dbase [Spearfish | Bismarck Sea | DS]

12 Jan 1943

Pacific Ocean

As Submarine USS Spearfish was departing her assigned patrol area to return to base, she made one more sighting of the properly marked hospital ship. ww2dbase [Spearfish | Bismarck Sea | DS]

26 Dec 1943

Pacific Ocean

The Fletcher-class destroyer USS Brownson was sunk by a Japanese dive bomber off Cape Gloucester, New Britain, Bismarck Islands. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Bismarck Sea | AC]
While supporting landing operations on Cape Gloucester, New Britain, destroyer USS Shaw was attacked by two Japanese D3A 'Val' dive-bombers. Shrapnel from three bomb near-misses created over one hundred holes in the hull and injured 36 men, 3 of whom later died of their wounds. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Shaw | Bismarck Sea | DS]

4 Jun 1944

Pacific Ocean

A group of United States and Australian cruisers came under Japanese air attack off Biak Island northwest of New Guinea. USS Nashville sustained serious hull damage from a near-miss aerial bomb off her starboard quarter. There were no serious personnel injuries but two compartments were flooded and the ship began bleeding oil. USS Phoenix sustained damage from two near-miss bombs that killed one sailor and injured four others while causing internal flooding and damage to her propellers. ww2dbase [New Guinea-Papua Campaign, Phase 3 | Nashville | Phoenix | Bismarck Sea | DS]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis

Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Share this article with your friends:

Reddit
Bluesky
Mastodon